so i finally got around to stripping my headliner out...the threads i found regarding this mod have links to dead photos so i decided to make my own for any of you attempting to do this mod...it took me about three hours to remove everything but that was because i took my time taking photos and answered some work e-mails since i was "working" remotely today...

first i started removing my "oh shit" handles, get a pick or something similar and gently pry the cover off like so...

unplug the brake light...now you can remove the rear deck lid, pull it towards you (sorry i forgot to take a photo of this step)...again, pull the rear deck lid TOWARDS you to remove it not up, the clips are mounted horizontally on this piece...

now let's work our way to the front seat, pop your moon roof up and take this accordion thingy off...just gently pull it towards you to remove it...i took a photo of the backside of the accordion so you can see how it attaches...see that torx screw behind it??? there are three of them, take them all out...

once you take out the three torx screws on both sides of the sun roof you can remove the glass, FIRMLY GRAB IT (i almost fucking dropped mine) and place it gently somewhere where it won't break or scratch...now, see these four screws attached to the sun roof shade??? remove them and you can slide the sun roof shade out...

now, let's work on this guy, grab both sides on the bottom where the trim meets the lower trim of your car...pull quickly and sharply...there are two clips on the bottom left and right of this piece...

pay close attention to the hole on the back side of this piece, there is a protrusion near the seat belt that goes into it when you put the new one on...if you don't insert the protrusion into the hole i'm pointing at your seat belt won't retract properly...

per oldguy's suggestion, i'm going to make a run to homedepot to buy some self fusing silicone tape and wrap the hoses up before installing the new headliner...my front sunroof drains aren't leaking, HOWEVER, i'm going to wrap in them in the silicon tape since i already have everything out and i NEVER want to go through all this again in the event that they do start to leak at the joints...nor do i want water stains on my precious new s4 headliner...

did the fronts even though they weren't leaking...to hell with even testing the sunroof drains just patch them up with silicone tape before mounting your new headliner...trust me you don't want to go through this again in the event the tubes start leaking at the joints...

Good work. Wish I had this write up a month ago when I did mine! There were some previous info on this but shady at best. Your write up totally "trumps" all the others! And you are right, not a job I would ever care to again. Not hard but the PIA factor is thru the muthafuckin roof! Lol.

ZERO FRAME GRAB

08-27-2016, 03:13 PM

Beautiful writeup, now do one for the avant. P.I.T.A I still havent put my rear cargo area back together yet

tHatOne guY

08-28-2016, 02:31 PM

Holy Sh!t, that's some work! Thanks for this.

uzone02

09-06-2016, 11:24 AM

nice work man

MurkyRivers_A4

09-06-2016, 12:23 PM

Great work!!!!

itsmatt33

12-25-2017, 06:13 PM

having some trouble with the c pillars. anyone have any insight? everything is removed per this DIY

audiction01

04-01-2018, 10:25 AM

mmmm

itsmatt33

04-04-2018, 04:21 PM

owe a big thank you to the OP. This DIY guided me through the full alcantara retrim.

Looks like I'll be having a go at this task soon. Just need to find a replacement headliner, and courage!

yanni6556

08-11-2018, 09:45 AM

Man i cringe thinking how many clips a shop would break doing that without you ever knowing.

Great write up though, very informative.

itsmatt33

08-20-2018, 01:31 PM

Man i cringe thinking how many clips a shop would break doing that without you ever knowing.

Great write up though, very informative.

at this age, breaking clips is unavoidable. I broke at least three. but as long as you epoxy correctly you are fine.

Charles.waite

09-24-2018, 02:43 PM

Might be doing this soon, ugh. Those spring clips for trim are the bane of my existence.

naiku

09-24-2018, 03:09 PM

Might be doing this soon, ugh. Those spring clips for trim are the bane of my existence.

Have to do it to mine, it started sagging in the rear a couple weeks ago. Not really looking forward to it, hoping the sunroof area is not too difficult.

itsmatt33

09-26-2018, 02:46 PM

feels like everyones is failing this year and last. right about same time.

Charles.waite

09-26-2018, 02:50 PM

My headliner is fine actually, I just have some leaves stuck in there and something rattling like crazy that is driving me insane.

Itís likely because my wife used to leave the sunroof popped up all the time and parked under trees at home.

jonan

09-26-2018, 02:57 PM

lol, i actually had to refer to my own DIY when i swapped the headliner in my RS4 last week [>_<]

Blk_OOOO

09-29-2018, 09:47 AM

Is there a way to remove the headliner without removing the sunroof? My sunroof isnít working at the moment. Iím trying to remove the headliner so I can dye it black (couldnít find a black one anywhere) and while itís off I was going to trouble shoot the sunroof motor to see if that was the issue and replace it to get my sunroof to open.

Thank you

jonan

10-01-2018, 12:06 PM

Is there a way to remove the headliner without removing the sunroof? My sunroof isnít working at the moment. Iím trying to remove the headliner so I can dye it black (couldnít find a black one anywhere) and while itís off I was going to trouble shoot the sunroof motor to see if that was the issue and replace it to get my sunroof to open.

Thank you

yep, just skip the removal of the sunroof...but retract it so you can access the clips...

i did exactly what you are trying to do when i swapped the sagging headliner in my rs4 with the headliner from another b7 that was in good condition a few weeks ago...didn't remove the sunroof at all i just retracted it...

A4Sleeper28

10-08-2018, 06:48 PM

PM the material you used for your headliner. I want to do it in light gray.